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The Quest for Rinaria
In August of 2012, Stahlfeld began writing a series of short stories, which she posts on her blog. The series follows Zuryzel, Dejuday, Shartalla, and four other pirate crews as they follow mysterious clues to a city that was lost before the Dark Ages for unknown reasons. The series was completed on January 12, 2014. Stories Secrets of Old Zuryzel, Dejuday, Una, and Eneng and Winterblade, brother and sister pirate captains, discover an old manuscript hidden in the otherwise-abandoned dungeons of Darkwoods, and learn that the writing hold directions to the lost city of Rinaria. The Riddles After a narrow brush with Snowhawk, a mercenary pirate in Mokimshim's pay, Zuryzel, Dejuday, Eneng, and Winterblade share the manuscript with Shartalla, Korep, and Ksheygha. They make plans to sail in search of Rinaria, following the cryptic clues. The Dragon's Nested Clutch The pirates are following different leads, searching for what the clues call The Dragon's Nested Clutch. ''Shartalla, with Zuryzel and Dejuday, looks for it in a marine rock formation known as Serapis. The Whale's Eye The searchers are now on the second riddle, assuming they guessed the first one correctly. The search leads them to Mauggiak Island, a whaling community, where Eneng is troubled by the next line in the riddle. Where the Sea Nymphs Rise As Korep struggles with the clue about sea nymphs, he also struggles with his best friend's inexplicable distance. The Gray Shore Even though Ksheygha thinks she's figured out a line in the riddle, something about it makes her uneasy. Through Gray Water Winterblade leads the way as the pirates navigate the most dangerous ground any of them have ever set paw on. The Icy Cliff After Winterblade was badly burned, her brother races against time to get help for her, along with a creature he never thought would help his sister. The Hidden City The clues are running out, and the pirates are about to discover if they followed them correctly or not! Characters *Zuryzel - the Wraith Mouse princess, second in line for the throne *Dejuday - Zuryzel's mate, a brave and practical Wraith Mouse *Mokimshim (mentioned) - Zuryzel's older brother; there is antagonism between the two *Shartalla- Zuryzel's best friend, a pine marten, an adventurer, captain of the ''Wynraser *Eneng - a ferret, the son of a famous pirate, a mercenary, captain of the Searaider *Winterblade - a ferret, Eneng's younger sister, a raider, captain of the Seawraith *Korep - a ferret, smuggler, captain of the Oceanflower *Ksheygha - a ferret, Korep's oldest friend, first mate aboard the Wideprow *Snowhawk - a ferret, mercenary in Mokimshim's pay, captain of the ''Nygoan '' *Una - a raccoon, Zuryzel's friend Places *Serapis - a ring of rock in the sea, hard to get into (only Shartalla's managed it) *Scattered Stones Keys - a place of relaxation, lush and sub-tropical *Ribasco Island - a barren, rocky island with little growing on it *Mauggiak Island - a whaling center *Pelleck Island (mentioned) - home of many pirates' families, port of origin for many pirates *Myanka - the southernmost Cliff Mouse city *The Gray Shore - the island where Rinaria lies